Apparatus and method for loading agricultural material

ABSTRACT

There is provided an apparatus and method for reduced impact loading of impact sensitive materials, such as agriculture seed material, into a bin from above. The loading apparatus includes a door selectively movable between a lower position and an upper position. A guide mounts the door at the bin and provides a predetermined path between the lower and upper positions for the door. A drive is used to selectively vary the position of the door along the path in response to accumulation of material loaded from above. The door is first moved to the lower position for initial loading. A material dispenser having a discharge end is extended through an access opening in the bin at the door for initial loading of material therein. As material accumulates in the bin during loading, the discharge end is selectively raised in the access opening to maintain it within a predetermined distance range above such material. The door is also selectively raised to varying positions above the lower position to cover the access opening as material accumulates in the bin.

This is a division of prior application Ser. No. 09/005,652, filed Jan.12, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,186,730, which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to agricultural planters and, moreparticularly, to reduced impact loading of agricultural material intoplanter bins.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Vast agricultural fields commonly are planted with multi-row plantersthat discharge seed at appropriate intervals into rows formed in thefields. These planters typically include a number of bins with a topportion designed for loading from above and for carrying a significantamount of seed and a bottom portion adapted to discharge the seed fromthe top portion for planting.

For efficient planting, it is important for these bins to be largeenough to carry an adequate amount of desired seed to avoid downtimeassociated with loading. In some instances, these bins must berelatively large to accommodate larger seed types, such as potato seedwhich, in essence, are sliced potato portions. Thus, it is not uncommonfor potato planters to have bins as tall as three to five feet.

To load these larger planters bins, a conveyor, auger or other type oftransfer device is commonly used to deliver seed from a truck or othersupply source. The transfer device then drops the seed into the bin fromabove through the open top and onto a metal or rubberized surface in thebin.

With these relatively larger bins, it has been found that the loadingimpact from this significant fall tends to bruise and otherwise damagesthe seed and enhances the probability of seed piece decay. This is aparticular problem with larger, more delicate type seed, such as potatoseed. As a result, seed efficiency is significantly reduced which, inturn, causes the cost of planting and the resultant produce to rise.

Thus, there is a need for an apparatus and method for loading relativelylarge planter bins to address these loading impact concerns. The presentinvention provides an efficient and cost-effective system that lessensdamage caused by impact during loading of the seed using conventionaltransfer devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided an apparatusand method for reduced impact loading. The loading apparatus includes adoor movable between a lower position and an upper position. A guidemounts the door at the bin and provides a predetermined path between thelower and upper positions. A drive is used to selectively vary theposition of the door along the path in response to accumulation tominimize impact force on the material as it is being loaded from apredetermined distance above the door.

The predetermined path may be substantially vertical between the lowerand upper positions. The guide also may include a pair of spaced railsto guide movement of the door along the path. Further, the rails mayeach define a channel along the path, and the door may be provided withrollers that roll in the channel as the door is selectively moved alongthe path.

The apparatus may further include an actuator arm between the drive andthe door. The drive would then selectively actuate the arm to raise andlower the door along the path. A support structure may also be providedfor mounting the drive and actuator arm. The actuator arm would bepivotally mounted to the support structure and to the door. The drivemay be connected to the actuator arm intermediate the pivotal mountingto the support structure and the door. The actuator arm may define aslot that allows the arm to move arcuately relative to the door as thedoor moves along the path.

The apparatus may further include a control device in communication withthe device to selectively activate the drive. The control device maycoordinate with material accumulation to vary the door along the path.

In another form, there is provided an agricultural loading apparatus fora planter bin to reduce impact on agricultural material loaded with atransfer device having a discharge end portion. The apparatus includes areceptacle having a side wall that defines a loading port capable ofreceiving a discharge end portion of an agricultural material transferdevice to facilitate loading of the receptacle through the side wall atvarying heights.

The assembly also includes a door at the loading port which is movablealong a predetermined path to selectively expose and cover the loadingport. A guide mounting the door at the loading port provides thepredetermined path. The apparatus includes a drive for selectivelymoving the door along the path in response to accumulation ofagricultural material during loading of the receptacle through theloading port.

The guide may include a pair of spaced rails to guide the door along thepredetermined path. The predetermined path may be substantiallyvertical. Loading of the receptacle may be done through the loading portwith a discharge end portion of an agricultural transfer device at apredetermined distance relative to the door. The door is then movablevertically as agricultural material accumulates in the receptacle. Theapparatus also may include a control device to coordinate movement ofthe door with agricultural material accumulation.

There also is provided a method of reduced impact loading of materialinto a bin. The method includes providing a bin with a side walldefining an access opening for loading the bin at various verticalheights and a bottom portion extending from the side wall. The methodalso includes providing a door slidably mounted at the access opening ofthe bin. The door is movable along a predetermined path between a lowerposition at initial loading to maximize the access opening andselectively to varying upper positions above the lower position as thebin is being loaded to close the access opening. The door is moved tothe lower position for initial loading to minimize loading impact. Amaterial dispenser is provided with a discharge end portion extendedinto the bin through the access opening over the door and at apredetermined distance above the bottom portion of the bin.

The method also includes selectively raising the discharge end portionin the bin as material accumulates in the bin during loading to maintainthe discharge end portion within a predetermined distance range abovematerial generally accumulating in the bin. The method further includesselectively raising the door to varying positions above the lowerposition to close the access opening as material accumulates in the bin.

The predetermined distance may be generally less than eighteen (18)inches above the bottom portion of the bin at initial loading andthereafter, above the material generally accumulating in the bin afterinitial loading. The steps of selectively raising the discharge endportion and the door may be generally coordinated contemporaneously asmaterial accumulates in the bin.

The method also may include the steps of measuring material accumulationand sending a signal representing the measurement to selectively raisethe door as material accumulates in the bin. The method further mayinclude the step of selectively raising both the discharge end portionand the door generally contemporaneously in response to the measurementof material accumulation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be described in connection with theaccompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an agricultural seed planter bin with anadjustable loading assembly embodying features of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of the planter bin of FIG. 1 toillustrate the bin without the adjustable door of the adjustable loadingassembly;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the adjustable loading assembly of theplanter bin of FIG. 1 illustrating the door in an initial loadingposition;

FIG. 4 is an elevational view of the adjustable loading assembly of theplanter bin of FIG. 1 illustrating the door in a final loading position;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the adjustable loading assembly of theplanter bin of FIG. 1 illustrating the door in the final loadingposition;

FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view of the planter bin of FIG. 1illustrating initial loading of the material into the bin with theadjustable loading assembly; and

FIG. 7 is a partial perspective view of the planter bin of FIG. 1illustrating final loading of the agricultural material into the binwith the adjustable loading assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, there is illustrated anadjustable loading assembly 10 embodying features of the presentinvention for use with an agricultural seed planter 12 to facilitatereduced impact loading of seed material, such as delicate potato seed.The seed planter 12 includes a bin 14 having a pair of downwardlytapered lower portions 16 and a rectangularly shaped upper portion 18.The lower portions 16 are provided with a dispensing mechanism 20 fordischarging agricultural seed, at appropriate intervals into rows formedin a field. The upper portion 18 is designed for loading andtransporting the seed for planting. The upper portion 18 includes afront wall 22, a rear wall 24, and a pair of side walls 26 and 28. Eachof the walls 22, 24, 26 and 28 terminates at its upper end with an upperedge 22 a, 24 a, 26 a and 28 a, respectively, to define an open top 30through which a conveyor 32, auger or other type of transfer devicedelivers seed from a source container to the bin 14 for planting.

During loading, the seed falls from the conveyor into the bin 14. Tominimize seed impact during loading, the adjustable loading assembly 10shifts to allow the conveyor 32 to adjust with the loading operation toreduce the fall distance of the seed. More specifically, the adjustableloading assembly 10 is mounted at the modified rear wall 24 andselectively shifts from a lower position (FIGS. 3 and 6), at the initialloading stages, toward an upper position (FIGS. 4 and 7) at the finalstages of loading, as seed accumulates in the bin 14. That is, theloading assembly 10 permits positioning of the conveyor 32 near thelower portions 16 of the bin 14 at the initial loading stages and, asthe seed accumulates in the bin 14, the conveyor 32 is raised along withthe loading assembly 10 to the upper position for final loading. Theability to lower and raise the conveyor 32 during loading enables theseed drop distance into the bin 14 to be controlled to minimize seeddamage. Thus, the loading assembly 10 allows the conveyor 32 to bepositioned into the bin 14 so that the fall at the initial loadingstages is as short as possible. The preferred seed drop distance is inthe range of about 0.0 to 6.0 inches.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 5, the rear wall 24 of the bin 14 issubstantially vertical and frames a generally rectangular access opening34 through which the conveyor 32 is capable of extending and movingvertically during loading. More particularly, the opening 34 is open atthe top of the bin 14 and is otherwise outlined by two generallyparallel side edges 24 b and 24 c and an interconnecting bottom edge 24d. The opening 34 is sufficiently wide to accommodate the conveyor 32extending between the side edges 24 b and 24 c into the bin 14 and beingshifted vertically without interference for loading. The distancebetween the bottom edge 24 d and the lower portion 16 is a predeterminedminimal distance when the conveyor 32 is moved adjacent the bottom edge24 d for initial loading. Depending on the depth of the lower portions16, the seed drop distance is significantly reduced by allowing theconveyor 32 to be lowered below the top edges 22 a, 24 a, and 26 a and28 a of the bin 14.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, the door assembly 10 includes a generallyrectangular door 36 that is slidably mounted at the opening 34 in therear wall 24 and is operable to expose the opening 34 and selectivelyclose the opening 34 as seed accumulates in the bin 14 during loading.The door 36 is defined by a pair of side edges 38 and 40, a top edge 42and a bottom edge 44. The side edges 38 and 40 are parallel to the sideedges 24 b and 24 c defining the opening 34. The door 36 is slightlylarger than the opening 34 so as to overlap the rear wall 24 along theside edges 24 b and 24 c (FIG. 5) and the bottom edge 24 d (FIG. 4). Inthe lower position for initial loading, the top edge 42 of the door 36is positioned to run along the bottom edge 24 d of the opening 34, andas the door 36 is moved vertically as seed accumulates in the bin 14during loading, the top edge 42 is moved toward the top to ultimately bealigned generally with the top edge 24 a of the rear wall 24 of the bin14.

Referring to FIGS. 2, 3 and 5, the door assembly 10 includes a pair ofelongated rails 46 and 48 mounted to the bin 14 to run along the sideedges 24 b and 24 c defining the opening 34, respectively. The rails 46and 48 are designed to mount and guide the door 36 for vertical movementover the opening 34. More specifically, each rail 46 and 48 has agenerally U-shaped cross-section formed from three elongated andgenerally planar strips referred to as a mounting strip 50, a spacerstrip 52 and a retainer strip 54.

As viewed in cross-section, the mounting strip 50 of each rail 46 and 48is used for attachment to the rear wall 24 and rests flush against therear wall 24 along the respective edges 24 b and 24 c. The rails can bemade from any durable material, such as metal, and are affixed to therear wall with any suitable fasteners, such as bolts, screws or welds.The spacer strip 52 extends perpendicular from the mounting strip 50 toform an offset “T” therewith, and the retainer strip 54 extends parallelto the mounting strip 50 and forms an “L” with the retainer strip 52.The three strips 50, 52 and 54 define a channel 56, and the rails 46 and48 are attached to the rear wall 24 so that the channels 56 open towardone another and the opening 34. The channels 56 define a substantiallyvertical path of travel for the door 36. The rails 46 and 48 extendbelow the upper portion 18 of the bin 14 so that the top edge 42 of thedoor 36 is positionable near the lower edge 24 d of the opening 34 tomaximize the opening 34 for initial loading.

To facilitate travel along the rails 46 and 48, the door 36 is providedwith a pair of rollers 58 and 60 journaled at each edge 38 and 40, withone located adjacent the top edge 42 and another adjacent the lower edge44. The rollers 58 and 60 are received in the channels 56 of the rails46 and 48 to mount the door 36 to the rear wall 24. The channel 56provides sufficient clearance so that the rollers are able to freelyroll between the mounting strip 50 and the retainer strip 54 of eachrail 46 and 48 without undesirable wobble or play for smooth travel. Therollers can be made from any durable and wear resistant material and canbe attached with any suitable fastener that provides free rotationalmovement.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, the loading assembly 10 includes acommercially available dual direction hydraulic piston 62 to raise andlower the door 36. The piston 62 is connected to the door 36 through anactuator arm 64. A truss system 66 extending from the right rail 48 isthe same general plane as the door 36 mounts the piston 62 and theactuator arm 64 at the bin 14 for operation. Depending on the bin 14,the truss system 66, however, may be mounted to extend from the leftrail 46.

The truss system 66 includes a horizontal truss 68, a vertical truss 70and an angled truss 72. The horizontal truss 68 extends along the topedge of the bin 14 (FIG. 5). The vertical truss 70 extends down from thehorizontal truss 68 parallel to the right rail 48 and terminates inlength slightly below the vertical height of the lower edge 24 d. Theangled truss 72 extends from the lower end of the vertical truss 70 tothe right rail 48 below the lower edge 24 d of the opening 34. Theangled truss 72 provides structural support to the truss system 66. Theangled truss 72 preferably angles in the range of about 45 to 65 degreesrelative to the right rail 48. The trusses may be constructed of anymaterial, such as metal, and can have a square tubular cross-section.The trusses may be attached together and to the bin with any suitablefastener, such as bolts, screws or welds.

The actuator arm 64 includes a first end 74 pivotally mounted to thevertical truss 70 and a second end 76 pivotally mounted to the door 36.The piston 62 includes a piston rod 78 with a free end 79 that ispivotally attached to the actuator arm 64 to pivot the actuator arm 64about the first end 74 to raise and lower the door 36.

More particularly, a first pivot 80 attaches the first end 74 of theactuator arm 64 to a tab 82 extending from the vertical truss 70 at alocation adjacent the junction between the vertical truss 70 and theangled truss 72. A second pivot 84 attaches the second end 76 to thedoor 36. The second end 76 of the arm 64 also includes a slot 86 thatruns longitudinally with the arm 64 for receiving a pivot pin 88extending from the door 36 at the second pivot 84. A washer and nutfastener 89 may be used to clamp the arm 64 to the door 36 at the pin88. The slot 86 allows the pivot pin 88 to slide therein as the piston62 rotates the actuator arm 64, and the second end 76 of the actuatorarm 64 travels in an arcuate path relative to the door 36. In effect,the slot 86 allows the distance between the first and second pivots 80and 84 to change as the door 36 is shifted upward during loadingoperations. That is, in shifting from the lower position to the upperposition, the distance decreases until the arm 64 is approximatelyparallel with the top edge 42 of the door 36 and then it increases againas the door 36 continues on upward to the upper position. Accordingly,the slot 86 is to be of sufficient length to enable the door 36 to bemoved freely between the lower and upper positions without applying anyadditional pressure on the first and second pivots 80 and 84 and thepiston 62.

The free end 79 of the piston rod 78 is attached to the actuator arm 64at a third pivot 90 located slightly to the right of the longitudinalcenter of the arm 64. A notch 92 is formed in the arm 64 to the right ofthe third pivot 90 to accommodate any fasteners used at this mount asthe piston arm 78 and the actuator arm 64 pivot relative to one anotherduring operation. A fourth pivot 94 attaches the piston 62 to a tab 96extending downward from the horizontal truss 68 at a generally centrallocation therealong. The pivots 80, 84, 90 and 94 are located to providefree movement for the door 36 without bending and undue resistance onthe piston 62 and stress on the pivots.

A pair of hydraulic lines 98 supply fluid to the piston 62. A controldevice 102 located remotely from the piston 62 controls the operation ofthe piston 62 in response to the amount of material accumulation in thebin and/or the height of the dispensing end 100 of the conveyor 32, inany event, to maintain the desired drop distance into the bin 14 for theseed material to minimize loading impact. This operation is eithercontinuous or incremental and preferably is performed simultaneously asthe seed material accumulates in the bin 14 and/or in response to themovement of conveyor 32. The control device may be operated manually orin response to sensors that monitor the seed material accumulationand/or the movement of the conveyor 32. The sensor may be located at thedoor 36 or on the conveyor 32.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, to load the bin 14, the control device 102is used to extend the piston rod 78 to set the door 36 to the lowerposition for initial loading. In this lower position, the top edge 42 ofthe door 36 is adjacent the bottom edge 24 d of the opening 34 (FIG. 3)and, therefore, the conveyor 32 or other transfer device can be extendedinto the bin 14 through the opening 34 slightly above the top edge 42 ofthe door 36 for initial loading. In this position, the drop distance forthe seed material 104 from the discharge end 100 of the conveyor 32 hasbeen significantly minimize, especially as compared to loading fromabove the top of the bin 14.

As the seed material 104 accumulates, the conveyor 32 is raisedvertically in the opening 34 at a rate that maintains the discharge end100 within a desired drop distance above the material 104 already loadedinto the bin 14. The door 36 is also raised to track the materialaccumulation and to close the opening 34 to maintain the material 104 inthe upper portion 18 of the bin 14. To raise the door 36, the controldevice 102 is used to actuate the piston 62 to retract the piston rod78, which pulls the actuator arm to pivot it clockwise about the firstpivot 80. As the door 36 moves upward, the second pivot 84 slides in theslot 86 in the arm 64, and the rollers 58 and 60 roll in the channels 56of the rails 46 and 48. The operation of the control device 102 can bedone manually or automatically through sensors in response to thematerial accumulation and/or movement of the conveyor. This is continueduntil the upper portion 18 of the bin 14 has been filled to the desiredlevel.

Once the upper portion 18 of the bin 14 has been filled to the desiredlevel, the door 36 is to be in the upper position closing the opening34. In the upper position, the top edge 42 of the door 36 is alignedgenerally with the top edge 24 a of the rear wall 24 of the bin 14, andthe bin 14 can be topped off with seed material 104 with the conveyor 32out of the opening 34 and above the top of bin 14. To refill the bin 14,the operation is repeated with the control device 102 being operated toactuate the piston rod 78 to rotate the actuator arm 64counter-clockwise to reset the door 36 in the lower position.

For example, the following dimensions may be used for an adjustableloading assembly in accordance with the present invention for use withbins for agricultural planters to minimize loading impact on seedmaterial. For access openings of about 3.3 to 3.5 feet (ft.) wide, thedoor width may be about 3.4 to 3.6 ft. and the height about 2.65 to 2.85ft. The rails may be about 5.3 to 5.7 ft. in length. As viewed incross-section, the channel in each of the rails may be about 0.2 to 0.3ft. wide and 0.16 to 0.2 ft. deep.

The horizontal truss may be about 1.3 to 1.7 ft. in length with thepivot for the piston at about 0.7 to 1.1 ft. from the right rail. Thevertical truss may be about 2.8 to 3.2 ft. in length with the pivot forthe actuator arm adjacent the lower end. The angled truss may be about2.3 to 2.7 ft. in length and may be at an angle in the range of 35 to 39degrees relative to the right rail.

The actuator arm may be about 4.2 to 4.6 ft. in length with one endattached pivotally to the lower end of the vertical truss and the otherend attached pivotally to the door. The slot in the second end may beabout 0.28 to 0.32 ft. in length. The piston rod is attached pivotallyto the actuator arm about 1.5 to 1.8 ft. from its attachment to thevertical truss. The second end is attached to the door about 1.1 to 1.4ft. down from the top edge and about 1.6 to 1.9 ft. from the left edgeof the door.

It will be understood that various changes in the detail, materials andarrangement of parts and assemblies which have been herein described andillustrated in order to explain the nature of the present invention maybe made by those skilled in the art within the principle and scope ofthe present invention as expressed in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A bin to reduce loading impact for use with a loading apparatus that is capable of loading material from different vertical heights by dropping the material into the bin, the bin comprising: a door movable between a lower position and an upper position to allow a loading apparatus to extend over the door at different vertical positions for loading across the door; a guide for mounting the door and providing a predetermined path between the lower and upper positions; and a drive communicating with the door to selectively vary the position of the door along the path from the lower position to the upper position in response to accumulation of material in the bin such that material does not substantially escape the bin over the door and that the dropping distance is able to be maintained at a predetermined minimum relative to the accumulated material to minimize impact force on the material as it is being dropped into the bin from above.
 2. A bin in accordance with claim 1 wherein the guide includes a pair of spaced rails to guide movement of the door along the path.
 3. A bin in accordance with claim 2 wherein the rails each define a channel along the path and further comprising rollers mounted to the door that roll in the channel as the door is selectively moved along the path.
 4. A bin in accordance with claim 3 wherein the predetermined path is substantially vertical between the lower and upper positions.
 5. A bin in accordance with claim 2 further comprising an actuator arm between the drive and the door, the drive selectively moving the arm to raise and lower the door along the path.
 6. A bin in accordance with claim 5 further comprising a support structure for the drive and actuator arm, the actuator arm being pivotally mounted to the support structure and pivotally mounted to the door.
 7. A bin in accordance with claim 6 wherein the drive is connected to the actuator arm intermediate the pivotal mounting to the support structure and the door.
 8. A bin in accordance with claim 7 wherein the actuator arm defines a slot, the slot allows the arm to move arcuately relative to the path of the door as the door moves along the path.
 9. A bin in accordance with claim 8 further comprising a control in communication with the drive to selectively activate the drive.
 10. A bin in accordance with claim 9 wherein the control coordinates with material accumulation to vary the position of the door along the path. 